COTABATO CITY –– The health minister of the Bangsamoro Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and his wife have beaten the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
“We have already surpassed that challenge and are now fully recovered,” Dr. Saffrullah Dipatuan, who is also a member of the region’s interim parliament, said in a statement released Wednesday night.
Dipatuan and his wife were quarantined at the Amai Pakpak Medical Center in Marawi City for the past two weeks after testing positive for SARS CoV2 that causes COVID-19.
Also on Wednesday, Asnin Pendatun, spokesperson of the Bangsamoro Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19, said the Office of the Chief Minister and the BARMM executive building have been reopened after these were shut down on Sept. 2.
On August 27, three workers tested positive for the virus, which forced Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim to order the disinfection and closure of regional offices, and for the employees to work from home.
Of the 299 BARMM employees, who were swabbed, 38 tested positive for the virus, and three have fully recovered.
Pendatun said the remaining 35 infected employees are in stable condition inside the Sanitarium hospital in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao.
With the resumption of operations, workers adopt shifting schedules to maintain physical distancing inside the offices.
“Visitors are reminded to strictly follow public health standards, or they will be denied entry,” Pendatun said.